Allowing non-housebroken dog to move in

[tonyclifton]

Not necessarily an RV situation but could use some advice from pet-minded people.

It's probably time to move my 78 year old mother into my home. She currently lives on her own 2 hours away and doesn't have much of a support network helping her. Her mind is sharp but her body is going downhill with bad knees, overweight and has already had a bad fall that dislocated her shoulder. It will be a huge adjustment for all but I'm OK moving her into my home where I can look after her. I predict it would only be a couple years and then she will be needing to go to some assisted living facility.

My biggest concern is she never housebroke her little chihuahua dog. Instead she allows it to go on some kind of absorbent pads which are laid down in various locations throughout the house, and it doesn't always go on them as I routinely pick up poops everytime I visit and the house smells of urine. To be honest I find disgusting and won't subject my family and life to accepting that on top of the other accomodations. To make this move-in situation work there has to be boundaries for all parties and this is going to be one of mine.

My dilemma is what to do about it. As a dog lover and owner myself I know how heartless it will feel to my mom to ask her to find her dog another home. It will probably prevent her from moving in with us as I know she loves that dog. It is maybe 10 years old and won't live forever but I'm going to hold my line on this issue. Maybe it can be trained to go outside but I have little hope at this advanced age.

Suggestions?

[toedtoes]

Here's the truth of the situation:

Your mother loves the dog. You love your mother.

If you aren't willing to take in this "problem" dog, then why would someone with no attachment take it in?


I agree with the above comments to train the dog. Unless your Mom is being left alone at home for any length of time, she isn't going to be able to really hinder the training. And since she is clear of mind, you can explain to her why there needs to be rules about the dog.

Good luck.

[valhalla360]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Any dog at any age can learn a new behavior. However, some dogs are more likely to respond to learning than others. In this case, I suspect you will have quite a challenge, as you have three issues working against you. One is the breed- Chihuahuas can be stubborn and not very bright. Two is the accepted behavior that is now unacceptable has been ingrained into the dog its whole life, and you are asking for a change not just to learn something new. And thirdly, you need absolute consistency- everyone must be on board into managing the dog to go outside, and I doubt your mother will cooperate.

Confining the dog to a very small area or crate and taking it out hourly, after eating, after waking from a nap, and any activity helps. Restricting water intake later in the evening helps over the night.

1) Who told you they aren't very bright? I suspect, you are confusing owners treating small dogs different from large dogs and then wondering why they don't act the same as large dogs. Ours certainly didn't qualify as "not very bright".
2) Ours was from the pound and took almost no time to train but we had the advantage of having him with us all day, so we could stay on it. Also, since we were living on the boat at the time when we went through a stretch at anchor, we picked up a litter box (actually a 6" high storage box for under the bed) put a green rug in it and within a week had him using that reliably.
3) I will agree if mom or the kids don't follow thru, it will be a challenge as that's giving conflicting messages to the dog.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
Any dog at any age can learn a new behavior. However, some dogs are more likely to respond to learning than others. In this case, I suspect you will have quite a challenge, as you have three issues working against you. One is the breed- Chihuahuas can be stubborn and not very bright. Two is the accepted behavior that is now unacceptable has been ingrained into the dog its whole life, and you are asking for a change not just to learn something new. And thirdly, you need absolute consistency- everyone must be on board into managing the dog to go outside, and I doubt your mother will cooperate.

Confining the dog to a very small area or crate and taking it out hourly, after eating, after waking from a nap, and any activity helps. Restricting water intake later in the evening helps over the night.

I agree with all of this - and suspect crating will be difficult because the dog will "cry" and Mom will let it out.

A couple years ago, my daughter needed to move in with us after selling her house, and she would watch our home while we were in FL. Her Shi-Tzu Bailey had been raised in our house; but had learned some really bad habits after moving out, like lifting his leg wherever he wanted. I had JUST replaced the carpet, so wasn't keen on having him back in my home, so I insisted that my daughter put diapers on him. She did, and it worked. After 5 months of him being unsupervised, I did a check with an ultraviolet light, and my house was indeed pee-free.

[doxiemom11]

We have rescued older dogs that were never housebroken. We have always been successful in housebreaking them within a couple of month, enough so we dared leave them home alone for a few hours with full access to all parts or the house. You do need to be diligent, give lots of praise and love and treats. Make it a good thing for them to do what you want. Go out often, treats when they go outside. Taking them to the same spot and saying go potty helps. Once their scent is there in that spot it helps. Exercise/walks for poohs unless they readily start just doing that outside. Patience -- it's not the dog's fault it wasn't housetrained. You could even try putting pads outside on the grass for a bit. I do also want to add - small dog, small bladder, will have to go out more often.

[xteacher]

The dog may not have had the opportunity to go outside as needed. She may do fine with a regimented puppy training - like potty schedule.

True story: We took in my MIL's dog, Rosie, a 7 year old cockapoo, a few years ago. Rosie was AWFUL! She had absolutely no manners, was used to eating only fresh, boiled chicken, and Milk Bones - lots of each. She was OBESE, because my precious MIL had dementia and didn't remember that she'd already fed Rosie, and continued to feed her - often.

Rosie was used to walking on tables and what ever else she wanted to do (really...), begging, barking, and being generally obnoxious. When my MIL was placed in a nursing home, one of the family members wanted to have Rosie put to sleep. I said ABSOLUTELY NOT - I would take her and see what I could do. I told them that I would foster her, rehabiltate her, then find her a perfect furever home. The other family members thought I was crazy.

Rosie came to us as fat as a swollen tick - really, she was AWFUL. She walked across an end table next to the couch the first day at our house. She never did it again... She just needed boundaries and rules.

Rosie refused to eat the premium dog food I offered (Wellness Core Reduced Fat) for three days. At the end of the third day, she decided that it was pretty darn good, and she ate just fine from then on. I substituted no-salt green beens for some of the kibble to get her to lose weight (the vet said she was DOUBLE her ideal weight - 28 pounds vs. 14!). At first, she refused the green beans, but hunger finally won out, and she decided that they were pretty darn good - carrots too (only 2-3 baby carrots for dessert at dinner time - they're high in sugar).

Rosie couldn't walk half a block at first, due to her obesity. As she lost weight, I increased her walks until we were walking 2-3 miles per day, and she LOVED them. She also turned into a fetching machine; she loved to chase toys in the house and outside.

After 6-7 months, Rosie was down to her target weight of 14-15 pounds, and she was ready for her new home. I fostered for a local rescue, and I took her to adoptions one Saturday. We had no more than walked 10 feet in the door and a couple came up to me and said how cute she was. I mentioned that she was available for adoption. Yes, they took her home! They were an older couple who wanted an older dog who wanted to sleep on their bed and ride in their truck (Rosie's FAVORITE things!).

Give the dog a chance. You'll be surprised at what the dog can do, given consistent boundaries and attention.

[Lwiddis]

“To be honest I find disgusting“

This is a health issue for you, your family and your mom. No indoor pooping dogs.

[schlep1967]

With a little dog that has very little time outside, one thing that may help is cut the grass very short in the area you want him in outside. He still may not like the feeling of it but it won't be as bad as high grass rubbing his belly. Among other body parts...

[JRscooby]

gbopp wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
Diapers.

That's just bypassing one problem and creating another problem.

I agree, the best thing is to take the time to house train the dog. No,, it won't be easy but it can be done.

With a old dog a diaper while in the house, only removed when outside will keep house clean and train the dog.

[rhagfo]

SidecarFlip wrote:
You crate them to teach them to be housebroken. Been doing that for years, old and young. Dogs will not dwell in a crate and poop / pee in there very often.

X2
This is the quickest way to house brake a dog. Establish a bit of a schedule. The dog will learn when the need arises to go outside. With an older dog, it will take more work than with a puppy.

[2oldman]

tonyclifton...lol

[chris3403]

I forgot that yesterday morning around 6am I heard her trying to get out of the crate. I immediately got out of bed and took her outside and watched her urinate. I let her come back inside and decided that I would be getting up for good in about an hour so I let her get in her bed and went back to bed. My wife got up just as I was going to bed and walked out into the kitchen and stepped right into the dog's poop!
I think my dog is starting to get dementia.

[chris3403]

My dog will be 19 in January. She has started having accidents. Last week I bought her one of those traveling cages. She had an accident (diarrhea) in it the 3rd night (around 3am). I took her outside and cleaned the cage out and put her back in it. One hour later she had diarrhea again.
Last night we had to go out for a couple of hours so I put her in the cage.
Today is the 4th day since her last accident.
I love my dog but I know it is just a matter of time before her next accident.
I think the traveling cage will help me from getting upset at her when she has her accidents.

[DownTheAvenue]

Any dog at any age can learn a new behavior. However, some dogs are more likely to respond to learning than others. In this case, I suspect you will have quite a challenge, as you have three issues working against you. One is the breed- Chihuahuas can be stubborn and not very bright. Two is the accepted behavior that is now unacceptable has been ingrained into the dog its whole life, and you are asking for a change not just to learn something new. And thirdly, you need absolute consistency- everyone must be on board into managing the dog to go outside, and I doubt your mother will cooperate.

Confining the dog to a very small area or crate and taking it out hourly, after eating, after waking from a nap, and any activity helps. Restricting water intake later in the evening helps over the night.

[SidecarFlip]

You crate them to teach them to be housebroken. Been doing that for years, old and young. Dogs will not dwell in a crate and poop / pee in there very often.